Women and War.

Catalog description

This course takes an international approach to studying the history of women and war. The objective is to better understand how women’s experience during war has changed over time and differed for women in a variety of countries. The class begins by studying the mythology of women and war, connecting ancient Greek war goddess Athena with present-day Hollywood depictions of women warriors. Lectures then focus on the theories positioning women in war history, and proceeds with a survey of women’s participation in several modern wars, comparing women’s experience in the U.S. with women in other parts of the world. Finally, the course ends with an in-depth discussion of several key themes in the histories of women and war: domestic ideology, prostitution, nursing, soldiering, war work, and protest/peace politics. ( GEND )